NDA (I) 2018 General Ability Test · Question 19 of 150

Correct — A, 'uniformity'. Diversity is the presence of many different kinds, and uniformity is the state of everything being of one kind, which is the direct reverse.

• (b)conformity — Conformity is behaving in line with accepted rules or expectations; its opposite is nonconformity, and a workplace can be culturally diverse and highly conforming at the same time.
• (c)identity — In ordinary use 'identity' means who or what a person is, and the phrase 'cultural identity' pulls hard here without being an opposite of diversity.
• (d)similarity — Similarity is a matter of degree — things can be similar in some respects and still be diverse — whereas the opposite of diversity is complete sameness.

Diversity is variety of kinds, so its opposite is sameness of kind — uniformity — rather than mere resemblance or obedience to rules.

All three wrong options live in the neighbourhood of sameness, which is what makes the item worth slowing down for. The strongest opposite wins in an antonym block, and 'uniformity' is the only word that says everything is of one kind. 'Conformity' is about behaviour, and 'similarity' is a weaker relation that can sit beside diversity rather than cancel it.

• 'Uniform' as an adjective means the same throughout, which is why identical clothing is called a uniform.
• 'Conform' means to comply with a rule or a standard, and 'conformity' is that behaviour.
• 'Diverse' and 'diversity' come from the Latin divertere, to turn different ways.

• Picking 'similarity', which is weaker than the opposite the item wants.
• Picking 'conformity' because it sounds like the opposite of variety.

Asked as an antonym item — choose the word most opposite in meaning to the underlined word.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the word most opposite in meaning to 'diverse' in 'a diverse group'.

  • (a)mixed
  • (b)uniform
  • (c)large
  • (d)modern

  Answer(b) uniform — a uniform group is all of one kind.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the word closest in meaning to 'homogeneity'.

  • (a)variety
  • (b)sameness
  • (c)fairness
  • (d)division

  Answer(b) sameness — homogeneity is uniformity of kind.